WASHINGTON — The acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection is stepping down amid the ongoing controversy over conditions in detention centers along the southern border.
- Sanders announced resignation in letter Tuesday to agency workers
- He told AP that kids in detention centers need better medical care
- US officials have struggled to deal with record numbers of migrants
Commissioner John Sanders announced his resignation in a letter to agency workers Tuesday, CNN reports.
"Although I will leave it to you to determine whether I was successful, I can unequivocally say that helping support the amazing men and women of CBP has been the most fulfilling and satisfying opportunity of my career," Sander wrote in his resignation letter, which said he offered his resignation to Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan on Monday.
Sanders's resignation is effective Friday, July 5.
Sanders took over oversight of CBP after McAleenan was promoted to secretary when Kirstjen Nielsen quit in April.
The move comes as U.S. officials have struggled to figure out how to handle the record numbers of undocumented migrants coming across the border. They say agencies have been overwhelmed by the numbers and are running out of money.
A withering report last week by the Associated Press highlighted bleak, overcrowded conditions in a detention center near El Paso, Texas, that houses children. Lawyers allowed into the center say many didn't have adequate food, water, or sanitation. Teens were caring for toddlers; some children were battling the flu, the AP reported.
Sanders acknowledged to the AP that the children need better medical care.
Last week, President Donald Trump called off planned nationwide raids of "millions" of migrants living in the country illegally by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Information from the Associated Press and CNN was used in this report.